The War for Makuhero City
by Killerison
Summary: The Hero factory has been thrown into termoil with the construction of the Villain Factory. Twelve years on and we follow Jack Bolter leader of the brave and heroic Bravo Squad. Haunted by his past Bolter and his team fight for the survival of Hero Factoy
1. Chapter 1: Bravo squad

**Chapter 1: Bravo squad**

Another explosion went off outside and our ship shook violently. I grabbed the overhead straps and began to walk towards the drop doors. Below us the flaming battle-scape of Makuhero city. Raven undid the straps holding her in place and stood next to me

"You ok?" She put a hand on my shoulder. I brushed it off

"Why wouldn't I be?" I opened the door and wind blew in and around by bulky metal frame I lifted my arm to shield my eyes from the harsh sun, then lowered them after my optics adjusted. The other herocrafts were keeping pace well but the villain gun placements were giving us a real pounding I gestured for Dakota to join me and Raven.

"Yes?"

"What sort of artillery d'you suppose we're looking at here?"

"I'm guessing thunderfire mortars"

"Ok" I folded my arms and surveyed the battle unfolding below". Behind me I could hear Raven and Dakota murmuring something, probably about my foul mood. But foul didn't even cover it.

My name's Jack Bolter, and I'm leader of Bravo squad. A brave group of 5 heroes of the new design, all designed with intense combat in mind when we were constructed. Guns aplenty and no cuffs to speak of. We were all commissioned during the war, and we've been doing damage since the day we walked out of the assembly tower.

I closed the doors and walked through to the cockpit. Stalin was cursing under his breath as we weaved in and out of ruined skyscrapers

"How we looking?"

"Good comrade Bolter. We should reach the target in a few minutes"

"Just keep it tight"

"Will do". I re-joined the rest of the team in the cargo bay. Raven tapped her sword hilts impatiently. The ship shook again as something hit the hull and scraped along the length of the ship.

"That didn't sound good" Dakota whipped out her crossbow and looked up at the roof. There was a scuttling sound and Dakota fired blowing a small hole in the roof. Whatever it was it plummeted downwards in pieces.

"COMRADES!" Stalin shouted from the cockpit. Shepard stirred from her meditation and pulled out her sniper rifle. I rushed through to the cockpit. Stalin was pointing towards three big black ships

"Nebula" I growled. They opened fire and Stalin took evasive manoeuvres and took us down towards the streets below. We dodged in and out of the streets crowded with fire fighting heroes and villains. Shots peppered the hull and the ships started to peruse us. I yanked one of the Gatling guns off my back and kicked open the drop doors. I took hold of a hand offered by Shepard and swung onto the underbelly of the ship. I took aim and opened fire. Orange energy bolts pounded the nose of the foremost ship "ON MY MARK START BAILING!" I shouted over the roar of my gun. We baller rolled so that the ship was upside down and I stood upright and yanked the second Gatling gun from its holster and that too joined the fuselage. Shepard Raven and Dakota joined me on what was now a semi-stable firing platform. I signalled and the three of them jumped free of the ship, while I gave covering fire. Stalin climbed through the hole and tapped my shoulder

"I think it's time for us to go comrade". Rocket launchers flicked out from under the wings of each ship and they locked onto us

"I agree". They fired and we jumped just in time. The ship vanished beneath us in a burst of flames and we plummeted downwards.

CRASH. I landed on my feet and the concrete beneath me shattered. I straightened up and holstered my guns. The ships were coming around to check for survivors. Stalin glided down next to me and he deactivated his rocket pack

"We'd better get moving" I ducked down and ran inside the wreckage of some old transport Stalin pulled out his own gun and crawled beneath a hunk of metal. Blue searchlights formed large circles on the ground. My fingers curled around one of my guns. _Von Nebula is on one of those ships. _Staling caught my eye. He jerked his head to one side. A black clad henchmen sprinted down the road and gestured for the ship to land. One of the two smaller vessels set itself down. More villains appeared, four of them were carrying a large silver cube

"You guys see what I see" my radio crackled and I tuned in to the frequency

"Good to hear your voice Raven"  
>"Thank you sir". I crouched and tried to get a better look at what they were carrying. "Shepard has a clean shot at the pilot sir, awaiting your orders"<p>

"Leave it, we follow them, no good attracting this much unwanted attention this early on. Remember the mission Raven". I released the grip on my gun and silently edged further away from the ships.

We met up with the others by junction 24. Raven's armour was slightly scorched but the purple still showed through. She smiled. Dakota was checking readouts from her helmet

"The target is a few streets away, might be tricky to make it on foot. We are after all in Villain territory"

"The plan remains unchanged. We take out the artillery emplacements to allow the other Heroes to deploy re-enforcements. Let's go". I broke out into a jog and the others joined. Stalin leaped into the air and took off soaring into the buildings that loomed overhead. Shepard activated her time field manipulator and seemingly vanished. We all knew that she was in a vantage point where she could do the most damage. I led the remaining team members through a variety of alleyways; having spent the most time behind enemy lines it seemed appropriate. Raven drew her twin katanas as we stepped out into another street. There was an explosion nearby. None of us even flinched. Dakota's holo-shield shimmered and she pulled out her crossbow

"Next street" she hissed. I pulled the two large guns off my back and nodded.


	2. Chapter 2: The Tunnel

**Chapter 2: The Tunnels**

We rounded the corner gingerly. I lifted my guns and ducked behind cover. There were more ships, they had landed on every flat surface available. Dozens of villains and their henchmen poured out of each one and into a vast hole in the centre of the street. I frowned '_what is that?' _Raven squinted to try and get a better look.

"We need to get in closer" she said. I nodded thoughtfully

"Do it". Raven took a few steps back and her armour melted and re-formed to resemble that of the closest group of henchmen. She gave a mock salute and casually walked in amongst the ships. Dakota and I slipped silently inside a building on the opposite side of the street. We watched as Raven greeted a large spiky villain who cuffed her around the side of the head and pointed to the hole. I turned away

"Shepard?"

"Sir?"

"Do you have our position?"

"Yes sir"

"What can you see?". There was a pause and I could hear the clicking of Shepard adjusting the zoom on her sniper rifle

"They're pulling large crates out of that hole, they're distributing them amongst the gathered villains". I did a double take

"Who? Who's here?"

"Corroder, Splitface, Tembler. A fair few of our old enemies. Should I take a shot?"

"Not yet. Raven's in there. We need to know what's going on in there" I looked at Dakota. She had her crossbow primed and was tracing a red clad henchmen. I put a hand on the barrel and pushed it down. She looked at me and I shook my head and mouthed the words _'not yet' _. I looked around the ground floor of the building. In the corner was a sealed fire escape. Graffiti covered its surface. But next to it was a staircase. I grabbed Dakota and we walked over to it. There was a faint red glow from the top. I put a finger to my lips and began to climb to the next floor up. I peeked out and set eyes upon Jetbug and Nitroblast. Firelord was involved now. The situation was not improving. I ducked down and Dakota took a look. She gaped before crouching down next to me.

"What the hell's going on here?" she hissed. The two villains were engaged in deep conversation so couldn't hear us talking.

"Not sure. But Zib wanted this checked out and we're going to do it." I cautiously peered back round the corner, satisfied I redirected my attention to Dakota. "Look something big is going down. We need to find out what it is and put a stop to it. Now follow me" I crept out onto the first floor and behind the two oblivious villains. I holstered my guns and lifted my hands. With one swift motion I slammed their heads together, knocking them out cold. Once they were out I searched for the radio receivers in their helmets and tore them out.

"What do we do with them now?"

"You got any cuffs?"

"No… we don't carry them remember". I cursed and pulled a metal bar off the edge of a chair and bent it around their wrists

"We'll be back for you two later" I murmured. We made for the next staircase.

Seven floors up and the view was much better. The ships were all arranged so that the access to the cargo bay was close to the hole. More of those large silver cubes were being carried into the enemy ships. About every major villain group had a representative there, Witchdoctor, Firelord, Von Nebula, Black Phantom, Atrax, Crimson Dagger. They were all working together on something. And of course the Villain Factory was there. They were running the show by the looks of things, ordering the lesser villains about. Their anti-quaza cores attracting a lot of attention. I saw a henchman make a grab for one and had his chest blasted open within 3 seconds of moving. The Villain shouted something and jammed the gun barrel under the chin od another henchmen eyeing up his core. They scattered and averted their gaze. I could make out Raven climbing out of the hole. She had one of those silver cubes tucked under her arm, a smaller one of course. Those around her had much larger burdens to bear. Dakota crouched by the window and pulled out her crossbow. I activated my radio

"Shepard target the Villain's guarding the hole. We need to clear a path"

"Got it". Dakota turned to me

"What's the plan?" I shrugged

"Bit of improvisation" I punched out a few windows and the glass was sent tumbling down into the street below. She grabbed me and tugged me down to the floor

"Are you crazy, they'll see us" she scorned, she punched my arm hard and rolled over. She peered down everyone was looking up at our floor. Shielding their eyes from the sun but leaving themselves unguarded. Three henchmen exploded simultaneously. The Villains guarding the hole turned and a shot blasted through the core of each of them. I stood up and took Dakota's arm

"Shall we?" I jumped through the broken glass and dropped downwards towards the gaping hole in the street. I pulled out my guns and fired into the fuel tanks of the ships; two ignited and exploded throwing the enemy forces into disarray. Seeing that her disguise was no longer needed Raven transformed back into herself and leapt into the hole with the silver cube in tow. E landed on target, I rolled on impact and hurled a grenade upwards. It went off and buried us.

I coughed and picked myself up off the ground. The front of my armour was scorched, it was pitch black in the tunnel, the explosion must have knocked out any power supply keeping lights on. Raven pushed a few large rocks off of herself and climbed to her feet. She walked over and slapped me across the back of the head

"YOU COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING!" she shouted "WE COULD HAVE DIED". Dakota brushed some soot off of her armour.

"We're not dead though, so that's a positive" I offered. Raven took it reluctantly. She kept the cube tucked under her arm. I went to take a look and she jerked it away from my hands

"Don't touch it" she muttered "For the commander's eyes only" she started walking off down the tunnel "There was a junction a few hundred metres down the tunnel… coming?" she continued to walk. Dakota followed her. I took one last look at the huge pile of rubble I had brought down on top of us and shrugged.

As Raven had said there was a junction, but finding it wasn't an easy task. The only light we had to go by was that of our hero-cores. Though the new design features a crystalline Quaza outer shell it doesn't put out that much light. Dakota activated her holo-shield and illuminated the passages

"Which way?" she asked. Raven squinted slightly before pointing to the left

"There it leads deep under the city, the villains probably built an escape tunnel along the way". She adjusted her grip on the cube and set off once more. Dakota hung back for a second. Once Raven was out of earshot she spoke up

"How are you holding up?" I groaned and started moving

"Honestly I'm fine. Why is everyone making such a big deal of this?"

"You know why and it is a big deal"

"Can we just finish the mission and get back to playing parent when we're home?" Dakota deactivated her shield and jogged after me

"you'll have to face the music sooner or later Bolt"

"I know" I sighed and searched the darkness before me for the form of Raven. She had gone a bit too far ahead "Raven" I hissed "Raven"

"Where is she?" Dakota sighed. She activated her holo-shield. She held it over her head and illuminated the entire tunnel around us. There was still no sign of Raven. I started to worry. I activated my radio

"Raven?" there was only static. I thought to try again but then a voice cut through the white noise like a knife

"You guys need to get down here fast". We broke out into a run "First left". We turned and sprinted down the dank tunnel. There was a faint light at the end of the tunnel. There were sounds too. Clanks and whirrs of heavy machinery. We reached the end and Raven was crouched behind a large rock

"Get down" she ordered. We ducked behind the same rock and I peered out gingerly. There were huge conveyor belts pulling more of those silver cubes out from a hole in the left wall. The henchmen were pulling them off and carrying them towards our hiding place. In the far corner two larger villains were arguing rather loudly

"The heroes are outside"

"Relax they collapsed the tunnel on top of themselves, they're dead for sure" I smirked to myself. Raven shapeshifted to imitate another of the henchmen.

"Just go along with whatever I say" she hissed. She grabbed my wrist tightly and did the same to Dakota. Without warning she yanked us out into the open. Dozens of henchmen turned in shock to face us. They lifted up their weapons and took aim. Raven snarled

"They're not yours. These belong to the boss" she tugged us violently across the cavern. The eyes of the numerous henchmen and villains were locked firmly on us. If looks could kill, I would consider these feeble henchmen more dangerous than they actually were. We were finally shoved down before the feet of the villains we assumed were in charge. We looked up at the spiked face of Raptix, the notorious smuggler himself. He ran a tongue over his serrated metal teeth.

"Good work" he chuckled and grabbed Dakota's helmet and jerked her head back. He leaned closer and licked her faceplate. He drew back and smiled. Dakota groaned in disgust. Raptix only seemed to find this more amusing and laughed out loud. I resisted the urge to get up and punch him. Raven had something planned though and I didn't want to jeopardise whatever the hell she had planned. Raptix sauntered over to me and punched me across the face

"Get your hands off me" I snarled

"I knew I recognised you from somewhere" he pushed me backwards and put his foot on my chest "Remember me Jack?"

"Don't know, I know quite a few ugly reptiles" I spat. He pressed his foot down harder

"Always so rude. Can't we have a civil conversation?" Raven swung her katana stopping just shy of Raptix's neck. His expression changed. Raven smirked and pointed her gun at the henchmen in the cavern below us.

"No sudden moves"

"Bravo squad" Raptix growled. I got to my feet and drew my guns. I pushed one into Raptix's stomach. He grunted

"The name's Bolter". Dakota climbed to her feet and wiped the slime off of her helmet

"Someone needs to talk to you about hygiene" she groaned. She pulled the crossbow off her back and pointed it to the conveyor belt "Stop it". The henchmen did as commanded and shut off the machinery. Raven leaned in close to Raptix

"What are you smuggling in to the city"

"You'll get nothing from me" he smirked. Raven smiled sweetly, then punched him in the stomach. He stumbled back and she stepped into the movement and twisted his arm behind his back. All the while keeping the sword pressed against his throat.

"I will only ask nicely, so many times. What are you smuggling?" she twisted his arm and he yelped. I lifted my gun and pointed it at one of the larger silver cubed on the conveyor band

"Well if it's nothing important maybe I should just pull the trigger"

"You wouldn't" he gasped. I loaded my gun

"Really?" The fear in Raptix's eyes started to grow. I gave him my oven steely glare. He caved in

"Antiquaza"

"Antiquaza?"

"YES NOW PUT THE GUN DOWN!" I lowered my weapon.

"Why are you shipping Antiquaza into the city?"

"I can't…" he started. Raven twisted his arm again and he cried out

"Why?" she pushed

"Because…" his head exploded in a shower of scrap. I spun around searching for the shot. The other henchbots opened fire. We had lost our bargaining chip. Dakota dropped down into the caver and started to fend off the villain re-enforcements that were now forcing their way into the tunnel. Our only escape was through the hole in the wall. I unleashed a flurry of shots into the invaders and Raven opened fire.

"We need to get onto the conveyor belt" I said. Raven nodded and drew a Katana. She took aim and hurled it into the control box operating the belt. It started spinning in the other direction sending the crates of Antiquaza back into the wall. I leaped over the heads of the enraged henchmen and landed on it. Dakota dispatched her attackers and joined me. Raven twirled and sliced through the chests of half a dozen more henchmen.

"RAVEN COME ON!" Dakota fired again. They were climbing up onto the conveyor belt. I kicked one off and fired into the next ripping armour from frame. Reluctantly Raven joined us. But not before hurling us the box she had been hanging on to for so long. She landed behind us. We flew into the hole and Raven managed to snatch her Katana from the control box before we escaped. I jumped free of the belt and flung another grenade into the underneath. Dakota dived free and Raven booted the box off before doing the same. The conveyor band exploded and sealed the hole in the wall. We dusted ourselves down. Raven retrieved her charge and walked over

"What is it with you and blowing stuff up?"


	3. Chapter 3: Acid Stone and Bullets

**Chapter 3: Acid Stone and Bullets**

The new complex of tunnels seemed to be even more confusing and cluttered than the last. Raven took point, still with that box tucked tightly under her arm. That gave Dakota a reason to hang back to talk to me.

"We need to get a support team in here" I murmured. Dakota nodded in agreement and dodged around an overhanging pipe

"Who you thinking?" she asked.

"Not sure" I shrugged "hadn't given it too much thought. I don't think we can afford to be picky". Raven stopped and began to move around suddenly. Darting from one side of the tunnel to the other.

"What is it?" Dakota supressed a smirk

"I'm getting a signal"

"What wavelength?" I started retuning my radio

"Come in comrade Bolter" I breathed a sigh of relief

"Stalin talk to me. What's going on up there?" The signal was faint, static fizzed in-between words

"Sir thank god. Don't know what 'you did but down there but everything's gone mad. The villains are amassing, there a lot of heavyweights have turned up. We're counting eight major villains". I smirked

"Sounds like we've pissed some people off"

"More ships keep landing. Whatever's down there it's extremely important to them you need to get out of there"

"in due time. Listen Stalin we need to get re-enforcements in here as quick as we can. They're smuggling in Anti-quaza, we need to hold this position and shut this operation down"

"Understood sir" Stalin cut out and the signal was lost. I shook my head. Let's just hope we can get out of here.

"DAMN IT!" Raven baited the wall and it cracked. She started swearing under her breath. The third dead end in half and our and prospects were looking bleak. I rubbed the back of my neck

"We have grenades" I suggested. Raven threw me her best _'don't you dare' _look and I withdrew my suggestion. Dakota put her hands on her hips and sighed.

"Well. We could always go straight up, going from the rock consistency I would assume we'd come up inside a building that we could cover from"

"Cover's not what we need. We're going to need to pop a beacon if we're gonna call the ships in" I shook my head "but getting out of these tunnels is better than staying in them". Raven sat down on the box and put her chin in her upturned palms.

"We don't want to bring the tunnel in on top of us again though do we?"

"I'm sure there are cleaner ways of doing it"

"I say we just keep moving" she stood up and tucked the box under her arm again "We're bound to find a…"

"DOWN HERE, THEY WENT THIS WAY". There was a commotion from down the tunnel. We all ducked behind cover and loaded our weapons. Five figures appeared out of the gloom. One carried a torch and was illuminating the group. Corroder was leading the way with four Villain factory operatives flanking him.

"you sure we're going the right way?" on asked

"Of course I am" Corroder snapped. He leapt onto a wall and began sniffing the air. The impatient core bearers began conversing between themselves. Corroder jumped back down. One aimed a kick at him but he turned and blocked the half-hearted attack. Weapons were immediately pointed at him.

"How dare you, you coreless little freak" snarled the lead villain

"I don't even know why we keep you around" spat another

"Because I know heroes. I was here before the war when we used to do real villain work not prance around with fancy guns and do the jobs no-one can be bothered with". That comment struck a nerve and he was kicked under the chin.

"Just find the damn heroes". Corroder squared up to the unruly mob for a few brief moments before sniffing again

"They're close" he pointed with his large claw like hand to the dead end where we were hiding "In there". He led the way and they dropped the torch and spread out. Still shrouded in darkness we watched as they started to search. Corroder muttered to himself and made a beeline for Dakota's hiding place. Raven stepped out of her hiding place and grabbed him by the neck. She whirled and pinned him up against the wall. With her free hand she pulled out her gun and trained it on the closest villain

"No sudden moves" she ordered. They all started to back off. Into my waiting grasp. I lunged forward and seized one of them by the head. I twisted it and it came off in my hands. Oil sprayed my helmet and chest. The rest opened fire. I flipped the body into the path of the shots and the anti-quaza core absorbed them . Repositioning the contorting body I flipped the weapon arm towards his associates. The trigger finger convulsed and one of them was blown apart. I pulled the limb free and stamped on it. Dakota activated her shield and charged into the remaining two and sending them flying backwards. With a flourish her crossbow was out and their cores were blown free of their chests. She holstered her weapon and smirked

"That brings my count up to 111" a gurgled swear word brought our attention back to our captive. Raven held her prize aloft and let him squirm for a few moments before slamming him into the wall again. He hissed and sprayed acid from his claw tip. The green gunk ran down her armour like water and dripped off with no effect. Fear appeared in Corroder's eyes. Raven smirked, she tightened her grip slightly and the struggling grew more frantic.

"I'm going to lose my temper if you try that again" she warned. Corroder tried to loosen her grip.

"You know these tunnels?"

"Screw you" he spluttered. I flexed my wrist

"Let's try and be more polite shall we?" I punched him hard in the stomach. He yelped and coughed

"What happened to being polite?"

"Oh that was polite. You wouldn't believe how much restraint that took" I cracked my knuckles in satisfaction. Raven smirked

"We need you to break through the roof so we can get back to the surface" Corroder growled and Raven shook him violently "Look we need your hands and to be honest I'm not bothered if they're attached to the rest of you". Dakota leaned in

"I'd do as she says; she's not in a great mood". Corroder wriggled furiously, then, realising his escape tactic wasn't working. Pointed his claw upwards and sprayed the ceiling. The rock dissolved and exposed the red sky above. Dakota leapt up and grabbed hold of the hole's rim and pulled herself up. We waited for a few seconds as she checked the surroundings. Her head appeared

"Clear" she chirped.

"You go first" I told Raven and she handed me Corroder. I clamped my hand around his neck and held his face close to mine

"Stay still or I break you in half" he gulped. There's nothing that brings more to my core than striking fear into a well-known villain. Just one more to add to my collection. Raven disappeared through the hole and gestured for me to throw her the box. I picked it up with my free hand and chucked it to her. I crouched down and sprung up after the others.

The building was coated in graffiti, marks of the fire villains. I ripped a bar off of the welded shut fire escape and bent it around Corroder's wrists. I swung his small frame over my back and Dakota tied him on with a few strips of scrap metal. He snapped and gnashed at Dakota's fingers, she slapped him without even shifting her glance. We ventured out into the seemingly clear street. We could hear the enraged villains nearby. I tugged one of the guns off my back and signalled for the others to follow. I activated the radio

"Stalin we're topside."

"We have you position"

"Good" I switched channels "Shepard how are we looking?"

"The next street is rife with enemy ships I'd pop the smoke as soon as possible"

"Are the ships nearby?" I craned my neck to see beyond the roofs of the huge skyscrapers. I couldn't see anything

"They've got an E.T.A of about four minutes." Shepard answered. I reached into my belt pouch and pulled out a trio of green flairs and slotted them into the three chains leading into my gun. Raven drew her swords. Dakota looked over to her lazily

"What is it?" Raven pointed with a blade tip. A huge black ship was gliding towards us.

"Oh crap" We dived for cover as it opened fire, strafing the ground at our feet. Chips of concrete flew into the air. I drew my other gun "SHEPARD! COVERING FIRE!" I shouted into the radio.

"Trying to find a shot" She answered. A missile flew from one of the ship's guns and exploded about a metre away from me. My armour was scorched black by the explosion. I risked a shot over the makeshift barricade. I had to use only one gun as the other was loaded with the flairs. The high calibre shells slammed into the craft's underbelly. I withdrew my gun as it returned fire. A single shot punched through the cockpit glass and the ship fell to the ground and exploded. The flames caressed my helmet and warmed my chest. I stood up and stuck one thumb into the air

"Nice shot Shepard"

"Thank you sir". There were shouts and scrams. Forms hauled themselves out of the wreckage. They lifted weapons and fired at us. Bullets and energy pulses rebounded off my armour. I activated the system lock and the alloy hardened. I strode forwards through the oncoming fire and took aim with my flair-less gun. I raked across the survivors of the crash; there were screams and the sounds of smashing armour.

"Ships inbound" Stalin informed me and I launched the flairs into the air. Engines screamed overhead and three hero transports soared over my head and dropped its cargo. 18 heroes stood to attention. Three teams. Two of these new heroes strode forwards. I nodded in recognition

"Bolter, good to see you're still alive" The blue clad young man offered me a hand and I shook it

"Blizzard." He squinted at me for a few seconds

"I remember you having green armour" he laughed

"Very funny" I pointed "the main villains are in the next street. If you can offer us some supporting fire we can put a dent in their population"

"Right behind you" he smiled

I loaded my guns and activated the system lock. Dakota turned on her shields and pulled the combat claw from her back. She fastened the straps around her wrists and checked the sights on her crossbow. Raven walked over to one of the rookies we'd been sent. She shoved the box into his chest

"Don't lose this I'll be wanting it back" she stood beside us. We darted round a corner and saw our foes. The villains were gathered around the sealed hole and were doing their best to try and break through. Drilldozer pounded the ground in frustration and started shouting. We took our chances and charged. I lifted the guns and sprayed the group with bullets. When they lifted their guns to return fire I rolled into cover behind one of the ships. I lifted my gun and fired four bursts upwards. More heroes poured out of the surrounding buildings and alleyways and joined the fire fight.

"Heroes!" Fire lord swooped down and struck me across the face. I fell backwards onto my back and he pressed his foot on my chest. My core sparked and the energy flowed out of it into him. The energy left my body. I twisted and diverted the power from my other two shoulder mounted cores to my main systems. "I love the new models" the fire villain laughed "Three crystalline cores for me to drain. Lots of power" he chuckled and I struggled more. I could feel corroder doing the same on my back. Stalin slammed into my attacker and sent him flying backwards. He pulled me to my feet

"Looks like you owe me one comrade"

"Remind me later" I breathed. Corroder wheezed for breath. Stalin drew his gun and fired into the bulky villain attempting to get up. HE flew upwards and with a burst of flames Stalin slammed into him again and rammed a combat knife into his chest. Fire lord roared in pain. Ships started taking off and leaving. I turned my guns upwards and fired into their engines. One or two of the smaller ones fell and crashed. Another ploughed straight into the side of a building. Glass showered down on Dakota as she tore through the chest of a villain factory. He held the core aloft in her claw and crushed it. The hero teams split up into groups of six and began smashing through the villain's defences. Drill dozer drained a hero of all his energy and discarded the body. Rounds from Shepard's sniper rifle slammed into his hardened skull and he made a run for it.

The fires of the fire fight were still alight long after the battle had finished. I walked among the bodies of dead heroes and villains. Raven snatched the box back from the hero she had given it to. Another hero craft landed and a group of heroes walked out. They were the bunch lucky enough to be guarding the point for the next month or so. We'd taken a small point at the edge of villain territory which was both a good and a bad thing. On the up side we'd shut down an anti-quaza distribution area (or so we were told by the leader of the guard squad). N the down side we had single headedly pissed off every major villain this side of Quatros. Shepard sauntered over with her sniper rifle strapped to her back. Corroder had been fastened into the hero craft's holding cell and the rest of us climbed in for the flight back to the factory. I leaned back into the headrest and closed my eyes. Raven who was sitting opposite folded her arms and observed this

"I think you've come back too soon" she said. My eyes snapped open and I leaned forwards

"Raven will you just drop it I'm fine. I can deal with it now shut up and strap yourself in". The ship took off and we started the trip home.


	4. Chapter 4: The assembly tower

**Chapter 4: The Assembly Tower**

The ship set itself down under the scorched white Hero factory. The doors opened and the five of us walked through the shattered front doors. We were greeted by a large white hero with a strong chin. He crossed his arms and frowned as we walked in. I saluted

"Commander"

"That was quite a bit of trouble you managed to stir up down at junction 26" he grunted

"Sir, we shut down a major smuggling operation"

"Whilst making losses that could have been avoided" He unfolded his arms and pointed to the lift in the far corner of the lobby "Get debriefed"

I unclipped the guns on my back and removed the ammo feeders. It was good to get that weight off my shoulders. Literally and metaphorically. Raven stretched and rested her weapons on top of the stolen box of anti-quaza. Dakota did a handstand and checked that her circuits weren't fried within her main systems. Since she kept her balance I guessed they were fine. Stalin sat down and clicked his neck.

"How many Villains did we actually arrest?" I asked

"Four" Shepard answered

"Right and how many did we neutralise"

"319" Dakota straightened up. I smiled, still as deadly as ever. Zib burst into the room his tablet computer illuminated his worried expression.

"You six have really made progress" Raven coughed purposefully "The five of you did well" he corrected "We were trying to track down Nebula's Anti-quaza supply for several months now. Hopefully it'll be a while before he can get some more shipped in" he lifted his head "Bolter have you spoken to the doctor"

"I don't need a doctor" I growled

"Your psych profile suggests otherwise" once again Raven coughed and Zib dropped the subject.

After spending a few hours with Stalin in the training room I retired to the Bravo squad quarters.I flopped down into an unoccupied bunk and opened my helmet. Raven wearily walked over, her helmet was open too and her thin features were visible. She smiled

"Looks like you've been through the wars" she laughed

"Not funny" I chimed and rolled over

"You're still upset huh?" she sat at the end of the bunk. I sat up and looked at her

"I'm not sodding upset now stop trying to psycho-analyse me and check that Stalin's still walking straight" as if on cue Stalin stumbled down the corridor making a slight right turn every few seconds

"You really punched him hard" she mumbled

"He shot a grenade in my face" I justified. Raven stayed looking at me. I raised my eyebrows "Yes?" she sighed and walked off. I didn't need a doctor, or anyone pretending to be one. I preferred to handle things on my own… now anyway.

The hours passed within the factory and we weren't called in for another mission. I assumed Zib wanted to keep me out of the action for a while. I sat atop the assembly tower and looked across the shattered skyline. sighing I folded my arms. The explosions were still audible from as far as the factory. Things were not getting any better.

"Hey" I turned my head to see Shepard sauntering over, she sat beside me

"Hey" I replied. Her helmet opened and her smiling face was bared against the night air.

"The commander was looking for you"

"Let him look" I grunted. Shepard shook her head

"He's trying to help" she turned to me "We all are"

"I don't want any help. I want people to stop talking about it". Shepard raised her hands in submission

"Have it your way". We sat in silence for a few minutes and watched the stars "Do you ever wish you could see all this before the war?"

"All the time" I lay back and looked up at the night sky "What I'd give to get off world and do what they used to in the old days"

"Once the war's over…"

"It won't end. Not before my core wears out" I turned to her and smiled weakly

"You'd last longer if you didn't make so many split decisions". I laughed

"It's a tough job".


End file.
